Modern air travel security sometimes restricts passengers from taking on board simple devices that allow them to pass the time engagingly. For example, knitting needles are prohibited on flights throughout countries in the European Union, and in the United States, the transportation airport security (TSA) officers can confiscate knitting needles at their discretion if they think the needles could be used as weapons.
One problem is that commonly used knitting needles, whether hollow or solid, tend to be quite rigid. For example, traditional bamboo, wooden, solid metal or plastic needles are all likely to be too rigid to pass muster under current TSA standards.
One could conceivably use multiple segments to solve the rigidity problem, but from the Applicants perspectives, none of the multiple segmented knitting needles solves that problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,094,262 to Burnham, describes a knitting needle shaft with a detachable point, but both the shaft and the detachable point are rigid, and would tend to be prohibited from use on airplanes.
It is also conceivable to hollow out the shaft to make it more flexible, but to date hollow shafted knitting needles tend to utilize the lumen in a manner that has nothing to do with rigidity. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 482,490 to Miller, describes a rigid crocheting needle with a hollow shaft adapted to fit a knitting needle within the hollow shaft. In Miller the addition of the second needle to the hollow compartment has no bearing on the functionality of the needle. The hollow compartment merely functions as a storage cavity. Even further, the outer (crocheting needle) is quite rigid.
Burnham and Miller and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Thus, there is still a need for a knitting needle that has both flexible and rigid configurations.